the reel ess

I think so as well. She's just a little more educated. A 9 lb. is the biggest I know of coming from this lake. But it's private, sees little pressure, electric motor (or paddle) only with an endless supply of golden shiners, minnows, bluegill, shellcrackers, warmouth, crappie and catfish. I'm keeping a list of the fish over 3.5 lb. caught there this calendar year, the date and what I caught them on.

I know right? I'm having my best year ever and it's only half over. But I've targeted bigger bass and this place has a bunch of 6-8 lb fish. Not a lot over 8. It's my lifelong fishing goal to get a double digit bass.

I had my first free morning in two weeks yesterday. I got on the lake by 6:30. It was overcast and even rained a few drops early. I decided to try the Teckel Sprinker frog that I have never used because I've been missing most of the frog bites I got lately. About 30 minutes into the trip a 6.1 lb crushed it on top of the lilies. It put up a valiant fight but it was fighting my frog rod. I weighed it, took the obligatory pic and had it swimming away in less than a minute. About 30 minutes later I missed a big bass on the WP and another on the jig that felt good. I was using the Trashmaster jig, which has as a screwlock and the trailer is rigged Texas style for better weedlessness. The hook never cleared the plastic, though I set it plenty hard enough. I was beating myself up for not catching those two when I decided to revisit some laydowns and overhangs that I had already covered with the jig. I skipped it under an overhang that has been kind to me in the past. BOOM! Another big gal had it before I started the retrieve and was headed for deep water until I set the hook. Then she decided to go back to the brush. It was close combat, but she was hooked so well there was no escape. The battery in my scale had gone dead by this time. But this fish was noticeably bigger than the 6.1 and was starting to get that bug-eyed look. I'm guessing 7+. The more I jig fish with 30# braid, the more I'm convinced they're not line shy.

I would say it's often not even about food or eating. They're like cats in the water. It's smaller than them so they must kill it.

I was frog fishing today and thought about this very thing. I pictured a big bass thumbing through the Petersen Filed Guide of Bass Prey. I don't think they care. They're stone cold killers.

Karma

The guy I got that Johnny Rattler (and a Spook) from was trying to sell me his entire collection. I picked through it looking for gems, but it was mostly run of the mill stuff. He had a lot of Spooks so I bought one in the bass pattern.

@galyonj I just had an ah-hah moment. I like to use Tactical Anglers Clips with my hard baits. So I'll take the split rings off the line ties of those to put on the Spooks.

There are lots of variables. But having that endless supply of forage is definitely going to help size and probably overcome the other variables. Some of those variables matter a lot more when the forage is limited. I fish a place that apparently has plenty of forage and there are lots of 6-7 pounders in there. But it's about 30 acres. And there aren't many people taking any big bass out of it.

I was eyeballing that EWG Gammy in size #1 because that's the size R2Sea uses for their 113 Whopper Plopper. And the hooks that come with the Spook are quite large, maybe larger than necessary.

I have several old Spooks that I want to replace the hooks on and add split rings. What hook do y'all use for those? Also, what size split ring should be used? I've hardly ever replaced hooks unless they broke and I always scavenged split rings from baits I don't use. Thanks.

I believe that was the first crankbait I ever owned and I caught a lot on them. I used them and T rigged worms exclusively for bass until I was about 18. My dad was of the opinion that you could catch al bass at any time with a worm. I bought some cheap spinnerbaits from BPS around that time and showed him otherwise. The bait monkey bit and I never stopped.

I'd like to amass more vintage lures. I ran across this little gem ;last weekend at the beach and bought it for $5. I learned from another member it's called a Johnny Rattler and probably from the 70's. Although it looks brand new. I bought it from an older guy who used to live on Clark's Hill Lake and I'm pretty sure he hasn't fished in quite a while. It's either unused or has a custom paint job.

All the same stuff you use in a lake should work there. And lots of topwaters! I find it much easier to get bites on top in small, shallow bodies of water. I even throw the big baits at them.

You can expect backlashes even when you've had a lot of practice. Pull off more line than you think you'll need and put some electrical tape on the spool there. Then reel it back up, of course. It will make all your backlashes shallow and easier to pick out. I don't do this, but I've known people that do. I bought a reel with a shallow spool for this reason. I keep the brakes and cast control tension in the same setting I would for casting. If you can, try a sidearm pitch. That gets the bait lower upon entry. You just stop the spool with your thumb when the bait contacts the water and allow the bait to sink. The bite usually comes on the initial drop. I can't tell you how many times I picked out a small backlash and the bass was already swimming around with the bait when I put tension on the line. Lastly, keep some extra 15-20# Big Game and scissors in your tackle bag. It can save a trip. I use straight braid for pitching/flipping and catch good fish on it. I've also done it with straight mono and braid with mono leader. I never noticed any difference in number or quality of bites except that braid helps tremendously with hooksets. You want to allow the bait to sink on a semi slack line. The fish usually take the bait on the drop. So the line shouldn't be noisy during the presentation.

NM. I was responding to a 12 year old post.

Aw Son! Unsolicited story: I caught a fish on my first ever cast with a Senko. I bought a pack at a sportsman show in Columbia, SC after watching a guide's seminar about wacky rigging it. I went very early spring (still winter) and tossed that thing at a stump. Only fish I caught all day. But the stick worm caught me.

Falcon Bucoo "Super Duty" 7'5" Hvy/X Fast. $109. But it can probably be found cheaper if you shop around. I have their pitching stick and it's the lightest rod I own. This is not a technique that requires a very expensive, very sensitive rod. Just the right action and light weight. https://shop.falconrods.com/collections/falcon-bucoo-sr-series/products/bucoo-sr-super-duty-brc-8-175?variant=13585160437860

'Tis better to throw the wrong bait in the right location than to throw the right one in the wrong location. You can throw the kitchen sink to to avail in a place with no fish.

I like braid on all my flipping and spinning rods. It's tough on wood. But I also agree with the above guys recommending 15-20# Berkley Big Game. They're both great. I just like the peace of mind of knowing a big bass is not going to fray my line on anything. On the other hand you do have the ability to break the mono if you have to.

All of them. But I do tend to shy away from deep cranks as I fish mostly shallow, weedy places. My favorite way to catch a fish is on a topwater. Sometimes I ahve 4 rods rigged with topwaters when I start out. I'll usually replace the buzzbait with a spinnerbait and one of the hard baits with a lipless crank or some other bait as the sun gets higher.

For me, for numbers, it would have to be the hollow-body frog. I catch 2 or 3 off it every time I go when the water is warm. This probably has a lot to do with where you fish as it's great around vegetation. And there are almost always bass in vegetation. Second, I'd have to say a prop bait, specifically the Whopper Plopper 110. It has been a killer bait for me this year. I have 4 fish over 5 lbs on it thus far, the largest 7.93 lbs., also my best fish of 2021 thus far. Third, Id say a popper, like the Chug Bug. I prefer it to the Pop R because it's much easier to cast on BC gear.

This happened recently with me. They were shiners.

In very clear water I'd use a brown jig. I almost always use a black/blue one though as it's never really clear here.

I did remove it. That was just on it when I bought it. I actually prefer Tactical Anglers clips for hard baits because I kayak fish and it's just easier to switch most of them with a clip. I noticed this bait walks a little. It has a cool action for sure.